


Tales from Storybrooke

by athousandsmiles



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AU, Angst, Crack, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-30
Updated: 2014-06-30
Packaged: 2018-02-06 19:49:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1870194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/athousandsmiles/pseuds/athousandsmiles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is just the place where I'll post all my random OUAT ficlets, most of which were written for challenges at onceuponaland on LJ. So basically, this is a collection of oneshots, ficlets, and drabbles. Mostly Captain Swan, unless otherwise indicated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. North Star

**Author's Note:**

> This sappy Captain Swan oneshot was written as a gift for _snitchbitch on LJ. It's set immediately after the season 3 finale.

Killian's heart sank like a stone to the bottom of the sea as he listened to the conversation between Regina and Emma, and witnessed the reunion of Robin and Marian. Of course, something like this would happen just when he'd finally won Emma's heart and they'd found a little bit of happiness for themselves. Happiness, like magic, always seemed to come with a price. 

 

Given Emma's penchant for running away, he wasn't surprised to see her duck out of the diner and march off into the darkness. He had the feeling he was losing her already, but Killian wasn't the type of man to just give up so easily. He would follow, again, and he would find her as he always did and try to talk sense into her, try to convince her not to push him away. Now that he'd been given a brief glimpse of what life with his Swan was like, he knew he'd be rudderless without her, adrift at sea. 

 

He found her again on the bench by the little pond, her head resting in her hands in a stance of defeat. It stopped his heart for a moment, because defeat was not something he ever associated with his Swan. He took a deep breath before approaching, knowing he had a battle ahead of him if he was to convince her to let him continue to love her like he wanted to so desperately.

 

"You were right," she said, catching him off guard. She spoke into the ground, her voice filled with such anguish it nearly felled him. "You told me not to change anything, and I didn't listen and now look what I've done. I should've left that woman where she was."

 

He settled himself gently on the bench beside her, as if she would startle away like a wild bird if he moved too suddenly. 

 

"You don't believe that," he said, a quiet murmur. "And neither do I. You did the noble thing, because that's what you do. And if you had it to do all over again, you'd still save her life."

 

She looked up at him then, and there were tears in her eyes that made them look like stained glass in the moonlight. Even in such obvious despair, she was exquisitely beautiful in a way that made him ache with love for her.As a tear escaped, he gently reached up and swiped it away with his thumb, unable, as always, to resist touching her, offering her whatever scant comfort he could.

 

"But I caused Regina so much pain. You saw her. She was devastated. I stole her happiness, just like my mom."

 

He didn't know what to say to that at first, so he tugged her into his embrace, pleased when she allowed it. Stroking her hair, he murmured, "And just like your mother, you didn't mean to do it. You were trying to do what was right. You reunited a family, a husband with his wife, a mother with his son. Imagine how much happiness you brought to them, Swan."

 

She pulled back long enough to look at him and nod, then she swallowed thickly and said, "And what if Regina wants revenge, just like she did with my mom?"

 

Before he could answer, she rushed on almost breathlessly. 

 

"She'd never hurt Henry because she loves him too. And I don't think she'd go after my parents again, because she's tried that so many times and failed."Looking into his eyes, the tears began to roll down her cheeks, and he found his own eyes misting over at the sight of his love in so much pain. "That only leaves you," she continued, low and quiet. 

 

His heart skittered to a halt and then began to pound again almost violently in his chest at her words. "You're worried about me, Love?"

 

"Yes," she murmured. "What if she tries to take you away from me?"

 

Just when he thought he couldn't love this woman any more than he already did, she made his heart swell like the waves of the sea. 

 

"I've faced worse than Regina in my life, Love," he answered, clutching her to him and pressing a kiss to to the top of her head. "Don't worry about me."

 

She grasped his shoulders and pushed him gently away, before reaching up to cup his face in her hands, and her touch… her touch was his salvation. He reached up and placed his hand over hers, holding it in place, overcome with the sheer depth of emotion this woman evoked in him. 

 

"You have to let me put a protection spell on you," she said, a near desperation in her voice, as her thumb skimmed the scruff of his jawline. "Then she won't be able to hurt you."

 

"I don't think that's necessary, Love. There's one thing you're not considering, one difference between Regina now and the Regina of the past who sought revenge against your mother."  

 

At her expectant look, he finished with, "Henry."

 

"What do you mean?" she asked, sniffling and blinking back the tears that were building behind her eyes again.

 

"The lad motivates her to do good. She risks losing him if she returns to her evil ways. And if there's one thing Regina can't bear to lose, it's Henry."

 

"Maybe you're right," she said. "I hope you are. But I'd still like to put a protection spell on you, if that's all right?"

 

He smiled at her then, 'cause even in all her anguish, she did the noble thing of asking for his permission when she could've just cast the spell all along and he might never have known. It was just one of the many reasons he loved her.

 

He simply nodded, and replied, "If it'll make you feel better, then go ahead, Love."

 

Placing her hand over his heart, she closed her eyes and concentrated. He felt heat flow through him, like a shaft of sunlight breaking through storm clouds and landing on him like a benediction. It started at his heart and then ran through his veins, and it put him in mind of a good rum warming him from the inside out. And then suddenly it was over and she was looking at him with the beginning of hope in her eyes and that warmed him more than anything else. 

 

"Thank you," she said, with the hint of a smile. "Now she can't steal your heart."

 

"Oh, there was never any danger of that, Love. You see, my heart has always belonged to you."

 

And finally, she smiled again, a full smile, and pulled him in for a kiss. And he drank of her like a man long lost at sea who has finally found sustenance again.  

 

He'd told himself earlier that very night that one day he'd stop chasing this woman. He'd never been more wrong. Wherever she led him, he'd follow. Always. He was hers as sure as the sun belonged to the sky and the moon belonged to the night. 

 

She was his shining Swan, his North Star by which he'd always find his way.

 

 


	2. Ema and Huk in the 100 akre wood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is my answer to a challenge to write a bad parody, and one of the requirements was to include bad spelling and grammar. I think mine is more of a cracky crossover, but it was still fun to write.

Huk and Ema had long since left the inchanted forrest, luking for Snow so they culd reunite Snow and Cherming, and they stumbled into the 100 akre wood. 

"Comon Swan. I know a little hideout whewre we can spend the night." Huk said.

He lead her to a big tree with a liddle door cutout into it. They opened the door and ducked inside and found a coozy liddle room with a mirrer a bed and some cubberds. They were abut to cheek the cubberds for food when they heard a small voice say, "Help me."

Their on the ohter side of the room was the hed of a bear sticking thru the wall. 

"I'm stuck," the bear said. "Help." His one paw was jamed into a jar of honey, and he pulled it out and licked it off.

"Too much honey," Huk said, and took the jar away from the bear. He turned to Emma and said, "You go around outside and push. I'll pool from here and we'll see if we can't get him out."

"You want me to push a bears butt," Emma said, looking scetpical. 

"YOu have any better ideas, Swan," Huk said, impashiently.

"FIne," she muddered, and ducked back out the door and around to the ohter side of the tree. 

She pushed and Huk pulled, but it was no use. The bare was good and stuk. Ema sat down, tired and feeling defeeted, when a liddle boy came aroun.

"Oh dear," He said. "Have you been trying to help my frend, Pooh, too?"

"If Pooh is this fat bear here, then yes," Emma said.

"My name is Kristofer Robin," the liddle boy said, and Emma told him her name too and introduced him to Huk.

"Weve just got to keep him awy from the honey fro a few days," Kristoffer said. 

ANd he was right. Three days later, they pushed Pooh right out with the help of a rabit, a piglet sum cangaroos and a sad donkey. Pooh ploped onto the middle of the floor and began to eat his hunny again.


	3. Fixing the Potholes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was for a challenge called "Wicked Fix-it," in which we had to rewrite a scene to change the outcome. I chose a scene from the season 3 finale.

"We did it," Emma declared, marching into Rumpelstiltskin's parlor with Hook behind her, carrying their captive over his shoulder. 

 

"Your parents are together?" Rumpel asked.

 

"They're right back on track. We're ready to go."

 

"I see. And you brought some luggage. First, stolen rags, and now a whole person. What did I tell you about messing with the timeline?" 

 

With a wave of his hand and a puff of purple smoke, the unconscious woman disappeared.

 

"What did you do?" Emma asked, taking a step back toward Hook.

 

"I put her back where you found her, of course," Rumpel answered with a wicked giggle. "What did you think? You could just take her back with you? That could have serious repercussions, even in the future."

 

"But Regina will kill her," Emma exclaimed. "She doesn't deserve…."

 

"Nothing must jeopardize my plan," Rumpel said, cutting her off. "She is sleeping. Fortunately, she will awaken with no memory of any of this."

 

Hook placed his hand on Emma's shoulder, and reluctantly murmured, "He's right, love. Much as I hate to admit it."

 

She shook her head and sighed, giving up the fight even though guilt ate at her for the fate of the unnamed woman she'd tried to save. 

 

"Can you open the portal?" she asked, glancing down at the potions on Rumpel's table.

 

"No, I cannot," he answered.

 

"Then what are you working on?"

 

"This is for me. A forgetting potion. I know too much about my future. The only way to protect is to forget it."

 

"But what about this wand?" Emma asked. "You said it could help us."

 

"Oh that. Well, apparently only those who used the portal can reopen it. So unless you can wield magic, I'm afraid you're going nowhere.Can you?" he asked, tossing the wand into her hands.

 

"Thought not," he added when Emma remained silent. Moments later, she and Hook were swept into Rumpel's vault, trapped.

 

As Emma confessed to Hook her desire to be with her family again, and her newfound sense of home in Storybrooke, the wand began to glow in her hand. With a twist of her wrist, she reopened the portal.

 

Smiling, Hook reached for her hand. Together they leapt in, tumbling out the other side a few seconds later. And all was well in Storybrooke again. At least, for the moment. 

 

 


	4. Crossing Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post season 1 finale. When the curse is broken and all memories are restored, Snow and Charming remember more than just bringing Emma into the world. Vague crossover with House MD.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this after the season one finale for a challenge where we had to write a crossover story. So naturally, I crossed it with House MD. Implied House/Cameron. No OUAT pairings, unless you count the Charmings.

The townspeople were gathering in the center of town, their newly restored memories drawing them to their long lost loved ones. There were shouts of anger, and cries of joy at being reunited, and lots and lots of questions.

 

As Emma came upon her… parents (that was going to take some getting used to), she heard them talking quietly, frantically. 

 

"We have to find her. We have to," Mary Margaret was saying, holding on to David's arms with a firm grip.

 

"I know, I know," David said, grasping her shoulders and pulling her in. "We'll go to Regina and make her tell us where she is. We'll find her, I promise."

 

"Find who?" Emma asked, startling the two people she'd only ever thought of as friends until now. They turned to her, and Emma saw tears in Mary Margaret's eyes. 

 

"Emma," Mary Margaret murmured, and next thing Emma knew she was being sweetly smothered in a parental embrace. 

 

David was kissing the top of her head and telling her how they never wanted to let her go. How hard it was to say goodbye to her and how they always loved her, and Mary Margaret was sniffling and nodding in agreement against Emma's shoulder. Somehow Emma found herself crying again, though she wasn't sure she'd ever stopped since she said goodbye to Henry and then woke him with a kiss. 

 

When her parents finally pulled away long enough for her to catch her breath, she wiped her eyes and asked again, "Find who?"

 

Mary Margaret and David looked at each other, sending a silent message to one another and coming to some sort of agreement. David took a deep breath, and began to speak, but Mary Margaret cut him off.

 

"Emma… you weren't alone. I mean… when we put you in that wardrobe, we didn't know…."

 

"What your mom is trying to say," David interjected, "is that we didn't know we were expecting twins. Your sister came about 15 minutes after you did. By then you were gone and Regina was there with her soldiers and she… "

 

"She stole your sister away from us," Mary Margaret finished, her voice breaking as David gathered her back into his arms.

 

"We have no idea what happened to her," David finished, tears sliding down his cheeks. 

 

Emma had spent nearly her whole life alone, thinking no one cared about her. Now she had a mom and a dad (who loved her and wanted her), a son, and a twin sister.The impact of it all nearly made her buckle and collapse to the ground, but David (Dad?) caught her and clasped her to him again.

 

"Don't worry, Emma. We'll find her again, and we'll be a family. A real family," he murmured against her hair. And then she had to fight back more tears herself, because it felt so very very good to be held in her father's arms.

 

Mary Margaret enfolded Emma from behind again, and somehow Henry wormed his way into the middle of the family hug and Emma laughed through her tears, because they were all together. All except her sister. And Emma was determined to find her and make their little family complete.

 

[^^^^]

 

 

So much had happened in the few short hours since Emma broke the curse.Gold had brought magic back and the dwarves had done a little test and learned that no one could cross the town line without losing their pre-curse memories. That meant that only Emma and Henry could cross the line to find her long lost twin. 

 

They went directly to Regina, pounding on her door and shouting her name. A large crowd of townspeople gathered behind them, screaming for her blood until David calmed them down and sent them on their way with a promise that justice would be done.

 

Regina came out with a defiant smirk, not an ounce of fear or regret in her eyes until she spotted Henry at his grandparents side.

 

"What do you want?" she said. 

 

"We want our daughter back," Mary Margaret replied, gripping David's hand.

 

"Funny, I thought she was standing right beside you," Regina said, a cold smile on her face. 

 

"Our other daughter," David said with barely controlled anger. "What did you do with her?"

 

"Why should I tell you?" she said, with a humorless laugh, as tried to shut the door in their faces.

 

"Because if you don't, we'll sic the whole town on you. There's nowhere to hide anymore, Regina."

 

"What makes you think I'm afraid of them?" Regina said, eyes wide with amusement. "In case you haven't noticed, magic is back." With that, she flung her hands out at them, frowning when nothing but a few harmless sparks shot out of her fingers.

 

"Looks like your magic is pretty weak right now," David answered. "Now just tell us where she is."

 

"Please," Henry piped up, giving her a pleading look. "It's the right thing to do."

 

"Henry," Regina said, kneeling down before him. "I…."

 

"You said you loved me," he said, cutting her off. "But if you really did, you'd try to do what's right."

 

"Fine," Regina answered, defeated. "I gave her to Gold. As far as I know, he found a home for her."

 

[^^^^]

 

 

Gold was easier to get answers from, having rediscovered his long lost love, Belle, who seemed to soften him somehow. He told them he'd found a lovely couple who had a son. They wanted another child, but couldn't conceive another themselves, so they'd turned to adoption. And most importantly to him, they had the cash he demanded. All he could remember was their last name was Morgan, they lived in Ohio somewhere and that they'd called the baby girl, Allison. 

 

The information was scant, but finding people was Emma's specialty, so she was confident she could do it. As she packed a bag for Henry and herself, David and Mary Margaret bustled around trying to help and wishing aloud that they could go along. 

 

"You two need to take care of things here," Emma said, swinging the suitcase off the bed and moving toward the door. "I've got a few leads. Hopefully it won't take too long."

 

[^^^^]

 

Just over two weeks and more than a thousand miles later, Emma drove her little yellow bug into Princeton, New Jersey, checking her notes one last time.

 

"I think this might be it, kid. We'll find a hotel, get some food, and then we'll scope out this address."

 

"Good, I'm hungry," Henry declared, despite the preponderance of food wrappers scattered around his feet. 

 

Emma shook her head, as she pulled into a pizza joint and parked. "We gotta have a talk about your eating habits when we get home," she said. "Have you ever heard of vegetables?"

 

"Aren't french fries a vegetable?" he answered with a grin and Emma huffed out a little laugh of amusement. This mom thing was kind of growing on her, she thought, as she reached over and ruffled his hair."Sure, kid."

 

[^^^^]

 

 

"Alright, kid, we're here. You stay in the car while I go knock on the door."

 

"Aw, why do I always have to stay in the car?"

 

"Because this whole thing is weird enough already," Emma said, giving him a look as she climbed out of the bug and shut the door. 

 

The building was a nice brick-front on a neighborly street, just blocks from the downtown shops. Apartment 221B was the first one on the left. She was just about to raise her hand and knock, when Henry sidled up beside her.

 

With a roll of her eyes and a sigh of frustration, she looked down at him and said, "We're also gonna have a talk about obedience when we get home."

 

"Sure," he said, a mischievous grin on his face.

 

She shook her head and raised her fist again to knock when the door swung open and an older man with intense blue eyes, a couple days worth of stubble, and a cane in his right hand scowled down at her.

 

"Forget your key?" he asked, then noticed Henry beside her and gave her a puzzled look."You bought a kid? Usually after a shopping trip you bring home clothes or groceries. This is new."

 

"You must be Doctor House. My name is Emma Swan. I'm looking for Allison Cameron."

 

 


	5. Fight Fire with Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was no illusion and there was no way to escape. This was hell. Snow/Charming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't remember what the challenge was for this one. I wrote it over a year ago, based on season two when Henry and Aurora were meeting in that fiery netherworld brought on by the sleeping curse.

A stiff wind blew as grey clouds scudded overhead, blotting out the sun and darkening the grass beneath with heavy shadows. Before her, the Evil Queen stood, holding out an apple as if in friendly offering. Snow felt a momentary kinship with Eve from the old Bible tales, tempted by the fruit that would be her demise. But this one would save her Adam, not bring him down with her.

 

For a moment, Snow remembered the Evil Queen as a young woman, kind, gentle and loving. The woman standing before her was like a distorted image of that young woman, Regina.

 

"I take that apple, and he lives?" Snow asked, eyes fixed on the shiny red skin of the fruit, so perfect, so innocuous in appearance. "That’s the deal you want to make?"

 

"With all my heart."

 

The irony of that statement was not lost on Snow.

 

She stared into Regina's dark eyes, hoping to see some glimmer of the woman Snow knew as a child. Instead, there was nothing; just darkness and hate.

 

Snow lifted the apple and sank her teeth into the smooth red skin, chewed the sweet, juicy pulp, and swallowed. 

 

Everything became blurry and then it seemed as if she was looking at Regina from the end of a long tunnel. Her limbs grew limp, weightless, and she felt herself falling as if from a great distance, her body gaining speed as gravity took hold. She fell forever or for only a moment, she couldn't tell. Time was meaningless and hard to measure. As she waited for an impact that never came, everything went black around, above, and below her, and her body's momentum slowed again. She felt as if she was floating in a dark, endless void. 

 

She could not see or feel at first. Her only sense was of smell and then taste, the noxious fumes of some kind of fuel-fed fire reached her nostrils and filled her mouth and lungs, setting off a fit of coughing. Crying out as she finally made impact, she fell from the void into a room consumed in flames, landing on her backside with a painful thump. 

 

Instinctively, she shielded her face and shrank back from the bright orange fire all around her, her eyes stinging from the smoke and odor. It licked at the square tiles covering the floor and partially obscured what appeared to be an arched doorway with a massive door on the opposite side of the room. 

 

Wrapping her cloak tightly around her, she used the hood to cover her mouth and nose, and stood to her feet with determination. She made her way toward the door, picking her way around the patches of deadly flames. But the more she moved toward it, the further away it seemed.And then a great roar of heat and light blazed upward, blocking the door from her view entirely, and sending her scuttling backward to the relative safety of a flameless square of tile. 

 

Snow sank to her knees in hopeless surrender. The floor was cool beneath her, despite the conflagration all around, and she welcomed its touch, pressing herself as close as possible to gain relief from the intense heat. Perhaps this was all an illusion created by the Queen, she thought, a brief moment of hope taking hold. Unfastening her cloak, she swung it over a pool of flames, intent on smothering the fire, then watched in renewed horror as her cloak turned to ashes in an instant. This was no illusion and there was no way to escape. This was hell.She covered her face with her hands and cried, tears running down her jaw and dripping on to her tunic.

 

"Charming!" she sobbed into her sleeve, as the fire burned all around her, crawling closer and closer with each breath she took.

 

The smoke singed her nostrils, the acrid smell of burning flesh rousing her from sleep as she cried out in pain. 

 

"Sh, it's okay," Charming said, drawing her into his arms and murmuring soothing words into her ear. "You're safe now. It's only a dream."

 

But was it? Her breaths came in great gasps as she drew her arm up and saw the blistered, peeling skin that started at her wrist and continued up to the inside of her elbow, curling like thin layers of parchment. The pain was blinding, a hot poker searing her flesh, and she closed her eyes against it, willing it to go away. Large salty tears fell, landing on the injured section of her arm as Charming lifted it to examine the burn.

 

He said not a word, but the straight line of his mouth told her all he could not say. Reaching out to the night table, he grabbed a pot of salve and lovingly slathered it across her scorched flesh, so gently she could barely feel his ministrations. When he was done, he wrapped it lightly with strips of cloth.

 

The pain subsided to a tolerable throb, but the fear of returning to her nightly hell remained. 

 

"This has got to stop," Charming said, as if reading her thoughts. With soothing motions, he stroked the hair away from her face, love and worry in his eyes. 

 

"I don't know how to make it stop," Snow answered, shoulders slumping hopelessly.

 

"We fight fire with fire," he replied, leaving her only long enough to light a candle beside the bed. 

 

"When I was a child," he said, softly, taking her in his arms again, "after my father died, I began having nightmares. My mother would light a candle for me each night. She told me it was a flame of protection against evil spirits, a light to chase away the blackest of night."  

 

"Did it help?'

 

"Always."

 

She watched the flicker of the tiny flame, undulating, casting friendly shadows against the walls of their bedchamber, a living thing that calmed her at once. Laying her head back on her pillow again, Charming's arm loose around her middle, she fell asleep and for the first time since his kiss woke her from the sleeping curse, she slept as one at peace.

 


	6. Maternal Instincts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AU-ish Gold and Lacey (Belle) learn they are expecting a child. It doesn't go well. Rumple/Belle pairing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IIRC, the challenge was to write a story about motherhood (for Mother's Day), so this is what I wrote. I wasn't a big fan of Lacey, but there's no overt character bashing. In fact, I think I stayed true to her (lack of) character.

 

"What's this?" Gold asks, holding the offending stick in his hand. He's standing in the doorway of the bathroom, narrowing his eyes at me and waiting.

 

I swallow down another gulp of whisky before answering, contemplating the ice in the bottom of my glass. 

 

"What do you think it is?" I say, loading up my voice with sarcasm and rolling my eyes at him. Then I take another gulp of my drink, because this is too much for me. 

 

"You're pregnant?"  

 

Oh god, there's a hint of wonder in his voice, like he might actually be happy about it. I hadn't counted on that. 

 

"Yes," I mutter. "I'm pregnant. But hey, no worries. You've got magic right? You can just whip up a spell and get rid of it." 

 

"Get rid of it? Belle, no."

 

"I'm not Belle," I shout, throwing my drink at the wall and watching with satisfaction as the glass shatters and rivers of whisky slide toward the floor. I'm so sick of that name. "I'm not Belle, and there's no way in hell I'm going to be saddled with a baby."

 

He's coming toward me now, all conciliatory. I really hate that. 

 

"Lacey, please," he pleads, grasping my shoulders. "Don't you see? This is our chance to start over. A baby… it's… it's wonderful."

 

"No, it's not. Maybe it would be for Belle. But I'm _not_ Belle and I wish you'd get that through your thick skull. I don't want this and if you won't help, that's fine. I'll find another way to get rid of it." 

 

"No you won't," he says, seething with barely controlled rage. I have to admit, I like him this way, even when his rage is directed at me. 

 

He gives me a gentle shove until I've fallen back onto the bed, and before I know what's happening he's waving his hand over my abdomen and there's a weird sort of mist swirling around me.

 

"What did you do?" I back away, trying to evade the mist, but it follows me.

 

"It's a protection spell, dearie. Nothing now can harm this child until you give birth. At that time, I will raise the child."

 

"You bastard," I murmur. My eyes blur with tears. "I don't want this. I don't want to have a baby." I'm on my feet now, flailing at him with my fists as he holds me off. "You think I want to get fat? You think I want your stinking child? I hate you."

 

"The feeling's mutual, dearie," he says, glaring down at me. "Nevertheless, you're going to have that baby. After that, I don't care what you do or where you go. 'Cause you're right, dearie. You're not Belle."

 

He steps away from me and slams the door on his way out of the bedroom. 

 

OUATOUATOUAT

 

The months pass. I spend most of my time at the Rabbit Hole, drinking and playing pool and flirting with anyone who'll give me a second look. The more pregnant I get, the fewer looks I get, unless they're from judgmental assholes scolding me for drinking while expecting a baby. Like I give a shit. I'm sure Gold's protection spell is protecting the little leach. And if it weren't, I would've gotten rid of it by now. 

 

I feel like a frickin' balloon about to pop. Just when I feel my abdomen can't possibly stretch any further, it does, and this little freak inside keeps kicking and stomping on my internal organs. I hate this thing I'm carrying and can't wait to be rid of it. Gold tells me it's a girl, but I don't care. He says he'll call her Isabelle, after his beloved Belle. I just roll my eye and ignore him. 

 

He drags me out of the bar every night and makes me sleep in his guest room. I suspect he's keeping close tabs on me at all times, but I don't care, so long as I don't have to see him. He's made the other bedroom into a nursery, with exquisite furnishings and antiques from his shop. I have to admit, it's quite beautiful. The kid got unlucky in the parent department, but at least she'll have nice things. 

 

The contractions start early in the morning, much earlier than I'm used to waking. The pain is worse than any hangover I've ever experienced. There's a tight pressure, like a band around my middle, squeezing and squeezing until I have to close my eyes and cry out in pain. Every part of me hurts. 

 

Gold comes in, all smiles, like a child who's just found out Santa Claus is on his way. "It's time, is it?"

 

"Just, help me, please," I say through gritted teeth. "Do your magic thing and make the pain go away."

 

"Oh no, dearie. You're going to bring this baby into the world just like every other woman."

 

Tears are streaming down my face even though the latest contraction has subsided. I have no idea why I'm crying, but Gold seems to soften at the sight. 

 

"There, there, dearie. It'll only hurt for a little while and then it'll all be over."

 

"Yeah right," I mutter. "You try pushing a bowling ball out your ass and then talk to me about pain."

 

He laughs at that, and the sound is almost pleasant to my ears. My heart feels like it's contracting right along with the rest of my body, and the tears come even faster. Next thing I know, he's wiping my face ever so gently and murmuring words of instruction as I push. I grab his hand and grit my teeth as the baby makes its way out of my body.

 

There is so much pain, so many emotions that feel foreign to me and familiar at the same time. I feel everything and nothing all at once, as if I'm a mere observer of the proceedings in the room. And then with one final push, Gold catches the baby in his arms and lays her across my stomach, all goopy and alien-looking, while he grabs a towel to wrap her in. She's squalling and angry, and I can't really blame her. Birth is a messy, painful, disruptive process. She turns pink, her face all scrunched up in anger. And she's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. My Isabelle. 

 

I lift her into my arms, wipe her sweet little face with the edge of my nightgown, and place a kiss on the top of her head, and just in that moment when my lips touch her soft baby skin, it's like a light has been turned on inside me, chasing away all the darkness. 

 

Lacey is gone. 

 

"Rumple," I say, reaching for him with my free arm, my heart nearly pounding out of my chest with love for him and this child we've created. "It's me."

 

"Belle?" he asks. He moves to sit beside me on the bed, reaching to stroke my face, and his eyes are filling with his own tears. He looks as if he's half afraid to hope. 

 

"Yes," I say, clasping his hand to my cheek. "It's me. I'm Belle."

 

All pain is forgotten as he puts his arms around me, raining kisses across my face. He pulls back just long enough to stroke the fine soft hair on Isabelle's head, leaning down to kiss her too. 

 

We are a family and we are loved. 

 

 

 


	7. Not Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charming contemplates the past, and the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Snow/Charming future fic. I seem to vaguely remember the challenge was to write a OUAT character as a senior citizen. I think anyway. It was a long time ago.

In a secluded corner of the great room in the castle, Charming rested in his favorite easy chair, lifting his booted feet onto the ottoman. A fire blazed in the oversized fireplace across the room, and he could feel the heat making its way toward him, warming his old bones. On the table beside him lay the book that was the catalyst for undoing the curse that might have kept him from Snow forever if not for his persistent grandson and his daughter, Emma.

 

So many things had changed since that moment, so many things restored that Regina had taken away. But the one thing he couldn't get back was the life he should've given Emma. The thought of missing her childhood, the memory of leaving her in the wardrobe when she was only minutes old, the knowledge of all she had gone through was an angry fire that still burned within him all these years later. He should've been there to protect her and love her as she deserved. 

 

"You're doing it again," Snow said softly, startling him out of his thoughts as she placed a mug of hot cocoa beside him. "We can't undo the past. Let it go."

 

Her hair now matched her name, white as snow, and there were lines on her face that weren't there before, but she was still the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on. 

 

"I know," he answered, taking her hand in his and bringing it to his lips. "I'm trying."

 

"I do have something that might cheer you up," she said, a cheeky grin on her face.

 

"Oh, and what would that be?" he asked, his mood lifting at the sight of her smile.

 

"Wait here," she instructed, striding off and looking back over her shoulder as if to make sure he obeyed.

 

He waited, as told, and waited, and soon he found his eyes drifting shut as the room warmed and the chair seemed to wrap around him like a comforting embrace.

 

Snow's voice came to him from the other side of the room, a soft echo of joy.

 

"She's here," she said, crossing to him and placing a tiny bundle of baby into his arms.

 

"She's here," he repeated, fully awake now, his voice full of wonder as he accepted the baby, cuddling her in the crook of his arm. "When?"

 

"Just an hour ago," Snow said. "While you were out with the hunting party."

 

"Hi," he murmured to his new great-granddaughter, placing a kiss on the top of her downy head as he blinked back tears of happiness.

 

She yawned up at him and curled her fingers into tiny fists, and he laughed, letting the tears fall. She was beautiful, like Snow, like Emma, like her mother. And she would be strong and brave too; it was in her blood. But she wouldn't have to be strong and brave alone. 

 

He'd make sure of that. 

 


	8. The Driven Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Every snap of twig or rustle of leaves sent her heart plummeting to her stomach. He was out there, she knew. Following, watching, setting her nerves on end. Snow/Huntsman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a weird thing for Snow/Huntsman (Graham), even though I like Snow/Charming. And I even liked Emma/Graham, which makes it kind of icky if I think about it too hard, but there you go.

 

 

Snow spent most of her days hiding out in caves and hollowed out trees, draping vines and branches as camouflage over herself and whatever hole she burrowed in and catching little snatches of sleep. At night, she would venture out, silent and cautious, to hunt and gather food, to bathe herself in the icy river, and move through the forest to the next hiding place. It seemed like years since she'd seen Charming last, and she missed him terribly. But there was no way she could endanger him by seeking him out again. Not even Red could find her now; it was for her own safety that Snow left her behind. The Huntsman was the most skilled tracker she'd ever met, and at the Queen's bidding, he would kill anyone who hindered his pursuit of her. 

 

Charming was probably married to the blonde with the bad attitude by now. Red had probably stopped looking for her and moved on with her life, as she should, Snow thought. She only hoped Red was happy. And Charming too. Pushing those thoughts right out of her mind, she tried to concentrate on surviving instead. Everything else just made her feel hopeless. 

 

The forest was dense enough to cast off the sunlight that tried to filter through. Dark as night nearly, with a chill in the air that had Snow gathering her cloak closer around her. 

 

Every snap of twig or rustle of leaves sent her heart plummeting to her stomach. He was out there, she knew. Following, watching, setting her nerves on end. She wasn't sure why he didn't just grab her and cut her heart out, per the Queen's command, unless he really just enjoyed this cat and mouse game they were playing. 

 

Just ahead of her was another offering of food, a whole roasted rabbit laid out for her as if he knew she would make her way down this barely-there path. Steam still rose from the meat, and the scent wafted to her and made her stomach rumble with anticipation. He did this nearly every day, provided food for her and left it where she would find it as if he knew her every step before she did. She could only presume that this was part of his game. It couldn't be nearly as fun to hunt when your prey was weak and half-starved, she thought. 

 

She moved forward cautiously, plucked a chunk of meat from the carcass and devoured it, eyes closing in pleasure from the taste. The man could cook as well as he could hunt. After the first bite, she sat down on a fallen log and took her time eating the rest, reminding herself that she was the daughter of a king and not a savage. But once her hunger began to calm, she took a long look at her surroundings, her attire, her circumstances, and a wave of desperation overtook her. She was so very tired of the chase, and so very very lonely.

 

"Just do it," she cried out into the dark of the forest. "What are you waiting for?" And with that, she bent forward over her knees and let the tears flow.

 

He stepped out of his hiding spot and moved to stand in front of her. She heard him before she saw him, and knew that was only so because he wanted her to hear him. The man could be as silent as the breeze when he wanted to be. Looking up, she swiped at her tears angrily and said, "Please, just get it over with."

 

Beside him, she saw a wolf with silvery fur and red eyes. She'd seen it before, always with him like a loyal pet, except Snow knew better. The Huntsman considered the wolves his brothers and treated them as such. In turn, they were as gentle as lambs with him. She'd learned long ago that the wolf wouldn't hurt her without his say so. 

 

Kneeling down, he lifted her chin and looked into her eyes, gently wiping her tears with his thumbs, which only made them fall faster. The look on his face was so kind, but his voice was filled with confusion. "What do you mean? You still think I'm going to kill you?"

 

"Isn't that what she sent you for? Isn't that why you've been hunting me?"

 

"I haven't been hunting you," he said softly, lifting her to her feet. His smile was so tender it made her heart ache. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

 

At that moment, she realized he was holding her hands and he was close, so very close. In his eyes she saw a deep blue sea of compassion and love, and it startled her to her very core. And if she was honest with herself, it thrilled her like nothing ever had.

 

"But, she'll kill you if she finds out," she said, and her voice was a husky murmur to her own ears.

 

"I don't care what she does to me," he answered, drawing her into his arms until his chin rested on the top of her head. "She ripped my heart out, but she didn't get all of it. What's left is yours."

 

Oh, this was so wrong, but it felt so good to be held, to be loved, after so long on her own. She clung to him, pressing her face into his neck and shaking with emotion. He tightened his hold on her for a moment, and she felt a soft sigh against her skin that sent shivers down her spine and awakened an intense desire within her to feel all of him on all of her. 

 

She looked up into his eyes and then he kissed her and it was everything a kiss should be and so much more. It kindled a fire in her belly that spread warmth through all her limbs as the fire grew. He was giving himself to her regardless of the consequences. Offering himself for her, to be whatever she needed. She took it and gave back to him with her own kiss, offering her heart to compensate for his lack. There would be no more running, no more hiding unless he was at her side. Together they would find their way, wherever it led them.

 

For the first time in ages, she felt safe. 

 

 


	9. Warm Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You call her Snow, even though she's the warmest thing you've ever known. Snow/Charming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is the first OUAT fic I ever wrote. I don't even remember if it was for a challenge or not. Charming's POV, after he captured Snow in his net and set her free.

She was out there, in the woods, in the cold, and though you knew she was quite adept at taking care of herself, you couldn't help but worry. A thousand <i>what ifs</i> swirled around your mind like a flurry of snowflakes. What if the Queen's men caught her? What if the trolls got hold of her again? What if...

 

You remembered her in the net, the snare you set out for her, smiling and teasing you about the "nag with the bad attitude." You knew in that moment that you would never be satisfied with Abigail. This woman, dark hair falling from its clips to frame her pale, perfect face, made it impossible to want anyone else. 

 

Though she was the one dangling from a tree, you were the one who'd been captured. You call her Snow, even though she's the warmest thing you've ever known. 

 


	10. The Place Where I Lay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With all the magic floating around Storybrooke, it's a stray bullet that puts Emma in the hospital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set immediately after the season 3 finale. Hook's POV.
> 
> This was written for a 2 part challenge. For the first part we had to write a title and summary for a story that didn't exist. For the second part, we had to choose a summary/title (not our own) and write the story. My summary and title (slightly altered by me) were written by solarbaby614 on LJ.
> 
> Almost forgot, there was a part 3 where you pick a story and make art for it. The art is at the bottom of the chapter.

 

She's the salty sea air and the wind at his back and all that is good in all the worlds, and now that he's finally, truly won her heart, she's laying unconscious in his arms while her blood seeps from her body and pools on the sidewalk beneath them in a sticky, viscous puddle. He's never felt more abject terror than in that moment, watching the color drain from her face.

 

He can barely register the pounding footsteps and calls for help, the cries of her parents and her son, the gasps of horror and the shouts as he strokes her hair. Everything is chaos around him as he softly calls her name.

 

"Swan, c'mon open your eyes, Love. Don't you leave me now."

 

"Hook, we've got to get her to the hospital," her father says, laying a hand gently on his shoulder. It nudges him into action and he lifts her and carries her, marching resolutely while continuing to plead with her to just open her eyes, to please not leave him. 

 

At the hospital, he finally relinquishes her into the hands of the emergency room staff, and watches helplessly as they wheel her away on a gurney. His arms have never felt so empty. 

 

What seems like years later, he's greeted by the grim face of Dr. Whale. He rises with the Charmings and Henry, eager for some glimmer of hope.

 

"She's still unconscious," the doctor says, barely looking anyone in the eye, "but I was able to remove the bullet, and there doesn't seem to be any internal injuries."

 

"What are you not telling us?" Snow asks, and the question freezes Killian in place just as he thinks of bolting from the room to find Emma and see for himself.

 

"She _should_ be awake by now," Doctor Whale answers, rubbing at the back of his neck. "We can't seem to rouse her."

 

"Can we see her?" Charming asks, and Killian looks at him for the first time since this whole ordeal began. He and Snow and Henry cling to each other for strength, while he stands alone on the other side of the room. He envies them in that moment, because the only person capable of giving him strength, the only one he wants to cling to is lying unconscious in a hospital bed.

 

He doesn't even wait for Doctor Whale to answer, just bolts from the room, running down the hall. He opens the door to every room he comes to, until finally he finds the one that holds his heart. Next thing he knows, he's kneeling by her bed, clasping her hand in his and bringing it to his lips. 

 

"Swan, if you leave me, I'm lost," he murmurs against her skin. 

 

It's the prince's hand on his shoulder again that makes him aware he's not alone with her. Charming doesn't say anything, but his eyes are full of sympathy. 

 

"Maybe," Snow says, her voice thick with worry, "you should kiss her."

 

"Yes, that's it" Henry exclaims, swiping at his tear streaked face, "true love's kiss. That always works."

 

He can't bear to tell them that he already tried that in New York. True love's kiss is a fickle mistress, it seems. They're all looking at him so expectantly, and well hell, kissing Emma Swan has never been a hardship, so he leans forward and places a gentle, lingering kiss on her lips.

 

For a brief moment it's like the very air around them is distorted, a blanket of energy floating over them, and then everything is normal again and Emma's eyes open and she is smiling up at him.

 

"Hey," she says, and her eyes are the color of storm tossed waves. He's drowning in their depths and he can't ever remember being as happy as he is in that moment.

 

"Hey," he murmurs back, and then he gathers her up in his arms and holds her the way one clings to a life raft in the midst of a choppy sea.

 

Behind him, her family is making happy exclamations over her, but he refuses to let her go so they can have a chance to hug her. They seem to understand, because he hears Charming tell her to get some rest and they'll come back in the morning, and then he's finally, blessedly alone with her.

 

"What happened?" she asks, pulling back enough to look into his eyes.

 

"Stray bullet. The dwarves got a little tipsy at Granny's and decided to have a shooting competition."

 

"So we can blame the rum," she jokes, but he can't laugh about it, nor will he tell her about the murderous thoughts he was having toward the dwarves while he sat in the waiting room wondering if she would survive. 

 

"I almost lost you," he says, low and breathy, stroking her face with his fingertips.

 

"But you didn't," she reassures him. 

 

When he doesn't answer, she places her palm against his cheek and murmurs his name in a way that sends shivers of pleasure down his spine. "Killian, I'm fine. I'm not going anywhere. You saved me."

 

"Not quite a dashing rescue, but I suppose I did save you," he finally says, smiling for the first time since he kissed her outside Granny's diner before.... "All it took was these," he adds, pointing to his lips. 

 

"Like you needed a reason to be any more smug," she quips back, rolling her eyes at him with an affection that warms him down to his very marrow.

 

"What can I say, I'm a hell of a kisser."

 

"Can't say I disagree," she answers, and moves in for a kiss, as if to prove it to herself again. Her fingers are in his hair, thumbs brushing gently over his face, and the way she touches him makes his heart do strange, inexplicable, _wonderful_ things. 

 

He didn't save her, she saved him from himself and a life of blood and vengeance and anger. She reminded him of the man he was born to be, and then brought that man back to life again.

 

She's the salty sea air and the wind at his back and all that is good in all the worlds, and now that he's finally, truly won her heart, he'll never let her go. 

 

 

The following work of art was made by mergana on LJ:

 

[](http://tinypic.com?ref=2po1fv4)

And this one was made by katleept on LJ:

[](http://tinypic.com?ref=eld16p)


End file.
